World's 'most expensive divorce' set to halve oligarch's fortune

By Ivana Kottasova, CNN

Updated 6:19 PM ET, Tue May 20, 2014

Pricey splits11 photos

Pricey splits – Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev has been ordered to pay his wife $4.5 billion in a settlement being called the "most expensive divorce in history." Click through to see some other pricey splits in recent history.

Story highlights

Dmitry Rybolovlev ordered to pay his former wife $4.5 billion in a divorce settlement

Rybolovlev's total wealth is estimated at $8.8 billion, according to Forbes

Elena Rybolovleva's lawyer called the settlement a "record judgment"

Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev is set to lose half his wealth after being ordered to pay his former wife $4.5 billion in a settlement dubbed the "most expensive divorce in history."

Elena Rybolovleva's lawyer Marc Bonnant said the order from a Geneva court was unprecedented, and "this record judgment is a complete victory."

However, Rybolovlev's spokesman Sergey Chernitsyn said the divorce was still a "win" for the oligarch. The two had been battling over the settlement for six years, after Elena Rybolovleva, the oligarch's wife of 23 years, filed for divorce.

Rybolovlev's total wealth is estimated at $8.8 billion, according to the 2014 Forbes list of billionaires.

He made most of his money from the $6.5 billion sale of his stake in Russia's largest potassium fertilizer company in 2010. Rybolovlev is also known as the owner of the Monaco Football Club, which plays in the top French soccer league.

A trust set up in Ekaterina's name also reportedly own Scorpios, the Greek island where Jackie Kennedy married the former owner of the island, Aristotle Onassis, in 1968.

The oligarch's lawyers will appeal against the decision, questioning the sum. "There will definitely be a new appellate review and therefore this judgment is not final given the existence of two levels of appeal in Switzerland," said Tetiana Bersheda, Rybolovlev's lawyer.